Destination #1: Downtown
Kansas City’s largest, most interactive science museum, Science City at Union Station, offers something for visitors of all ages. Little ones especially love three experiential, hands-on exhibitions: “Let’s Play!” designed especially for babies, crawlers and toddlers with multiple sensory and role-playing activities, “Creative Corner” where art meets science in a whole new way with cool interactive activities and “All Aboard” that celebrates Union Station’s rail history.
Walk the Link from Union Station to Crown Center where you can enjoy Funville, the newest free, hands-on exhibit for kids. In Funville, children experience grown-up occupations in a kid-friendly setting. The interactive exhibit offers ways to imagine careers in weather forecasting, magic, farms, a salon or government. Whatever they choose, the most important job in Funville is to have fun.
Sea Life Aquarium transports guests into an amazing underwater world with up-close views of more than 5,000 sea creatures! Next door to Sea Life you’ll find Legoland Discovery Center in Crown Center, a larger-than-life attraction. Find a coupon here.
National World War I Museum and Memorial is not only a Kansas City landmark, but an American landmark. The museum tells the story of the Great War through interactive displays, thought-provoking films and eyewitness testimonies. With family guides and hands-on exhibits, the museum is an educational attraction for all ages.
If you’re in the mood for an outdoor adventure, Kansas City Kayak & Canoe offers float trips to paddle local Kansas City waters in a kayak or canoe. Floating down the Missouri River is a one-of-a-kind experience, and KCKC makes it simple, providing all the equipment and a variety of float trips for a few hours or a day.
Destination #2: Johnson County
Urban Air Adventure Park (locations in Overland Park and Lenexa) is our favorite local trampoline park. Offering much more than trampolines, this is a great place to spend a day! Urban Air gives a generous helping of frenetic fun with attractions like Kidzone and Urban Air Warrior Course.
Auto-Belays allow beginners to climb up to 40ft walls. Discover a new hobby or perfect your climbing skills, but most importantly, get active and have fun! (at RoKC Olathe)
RoKC Olathe is an excellent indoor attraction to get a bit of exercise and challenge yourself to try new things. Adventurers have a blast bouldering and rock climbing on walls up to 50 feet tall! The facility offers introductory classes and walk-in programs for beginners and experts alike, with a variety of styles for every skill level and interest. For bouldering and training enthusiasts, the facility offers hydraulic Kilter and Tension boards, MoonBoard, campus board, hangboards and system boards.
Get your DIY on at Ceramic Cafe, a local paint-your-own-pottery shop also offering glass fusing during walk-in studio hours. Glass fusing involves layering multiple pieces of colored glass to create a design. The pieces are fired in a kiln producing beautiful tiles, bowls, jewelry and other works of art.
KidScape at Johnson County Museum
If you have little ones, KidScape at the Johnson County Museum is a whimsical, hands-on, child-sized city. Children time travel to different periods and communities from the region’s past. They enjoy pretend play as they work on the farm, perform at the theater or the puppet show, teach in the school, deliver the mail, care for patients at the hospital and fry up some burgers at the diner.
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Ceramic Café
Pottery painting and glass fusing. Walk-ins welcome. Great for birthdays and group events too.
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Crown Center
2450 Grand Blvd, Kansas City, MissouriCrown Center is the place for pure entertainment. With exciting events and unique attractions. A center full of locally owned shops and restaurants. And two luxury hotels so you can stay at the center of it all.
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Dave & Buster’s
At Dave & Buster's you can play hundreds of the hottest new arcade games in our Million Dollar Midway and win tickets for epic prizes. Try our mouth-watering, chef-crafted creations in our American restaurant. From wings to steaks, we’ve got whatever
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Great Wolf Lodge
Enjoy a four-story interactive tree house, winding lazy river and numerous water slides.
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Grinter Place State Historic Site
A trip to Grinter Place isn’t just a look inside the oldest home in Wyandotte County. It’s a step back to the days of frontier life along the Kansas and Missouri border.
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Johnson County Museum staff, 2020
Johnson County Museum
Featuring award-winning long-term and changing exhibitions as well as public and school education programs, the Museum is a great place to spend the day learning about our county’s history and having fun in our hands-on exhibit spaces.
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Kansas City Kayak & Canoe
KCKC provides the opportunity to paddle local Kansas City waters in a kayak or canoe. Floating down the Missouri River is a one of a kind experience.
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Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium
Explore the Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium, with nearly 10,000 animals on 202 acres, it's the most affordable family fun for kids of all ages! Travel all over the world without ever leaving Kansas City.
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LEGOLAND Discovery Center
Legoland Discovery Center Kansas City offers a fun, highly interactive and educational 2-to 3-hour indoor experience. Based on the ever-popular Lego® brick, Legoland Discovery Center provides a range of interactive play areas.
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Legends Outlets Kansas City
Legends Outlets Kansas City is the only outlet shopping destination serving the greater metropolitan region.
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National WWI Museum and Memorial
The National WWI Museum and Memorial is America’s leading institution dedicated to remembering, interpreting and understanding the Great War and its enduring impact on the global community. Named one of the top 25 museums in the United Sta...
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RoKC Olathe
RoKC’s mission is to bring a state of the art climbing facility to the Olathe community, and provide a fun, adventurous environment, capable of teaching and challenging individuals of all ages and abilities.
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Science City at Union Station
Kansas City’s Science Center, Science City at Union Station Kansas City, is a dynamic, hands-on science center featuring nearly 200 individual interactive exhibits and daily programming. Kids of all ages experience the amazing world of science fir...
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Sea Life Kansas City
This aquarium experience will get you up close and face-to-face with amazing underwater creatures such as sharks, octopus, our green sea turtle named Gertrude, stingrays, sea stars, seahorses, jellyfish and thousands of colorful fish! A favorite a...
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dszc Getty Images/iStockphoto
Union Station
A place for great adventure. Where Kansas City Connects. All of these phrases – and more – are regularly used to describe Union Station. Visitors of all ages, from all places and for all reasons tie Union Station to special and magical moments.
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Urban Air Trampoline Park Lenexa
If you’re looking for the best year-round indoor amusements in Shawnee, Bonner Springs and Lenexa area, Urban Air Adventure Park is the perfect place!
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Urban Air Trampoline Park Overland Park
Urban Air Overland Park is an attractive solution to a common problem: needing one place to entertain kids of every age.
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Blade & Timber (5203 W. 117th St., Leawood) is a great indoor attraction for adventurers. This indoor axe-throwing venue allows you to reserve a lane or play with strangers, throwing axes at a wooden target. This is great fun for couples or group. Participants must be 10 years old or older.
Destination #3: Swope Park
Explore the Kansas City Zoo. Travel all over the world without ever leaving the Kansas City Zoo. Take a spin on the Endangered Species Carousel, ride the train, then continue your journey on the tram to the award-winning Africa exhibit. Visit Helzberg Penguin Plaza, the Discovery Barn and Stingray Bay. Stroll down Tiger Trail and get nose to nose with primates, orangutans and tigers—and be sure to explore Australia too.
Go Ape
Go Ape Treetop Journey
Near the Kansas City Zoo, Go Ape offers treetop and private group adventures. The two- to three-hour obstacle course includes 40 crossings that feature rope bridges, five zip lines, Tarzan swings and net bridges. This is a fully immersive experience combining obstacles and zip lines for the adventure enthusiast.
For animal lovers looking for a free, low-key outing, Lakeside Nature Center is an urban oasis and home to native animals in need of care. Children will learn about conservation and the needs of the animals. Enjoy hiking trails around the center and coming face to face with birds, reptiles, fish and mammals.
Destination #4: Kansas City, Kansas
Located in the heart of Village West, the state of Kansas’ top tourist destination, Legends Outlets is the only outlet shopping destination serving the greater metropolitan region. Legends Outlets is home to more than 75 leading designer and favorite brand-name stores, including Coach, Banana Republic Factory Store, Gap Factory, J.Crew | crewcuts, Nike Factory Store, Polo Ralph Lauren Factory Store, Tommy Hilfiger Outlet and Under Armour Factory House, among many more. These stores offer savings of up to 65% off regular retail prices. One of the most fun attractions at Legends Outlets is Dave & Buster’s, a restaurant and indoor arcade offering hours of entertainment.
Stay at Great Wolf Lodge or buy a day pass to swim at the indoor water resort that boasts a four-story interactive tree house water fort, winding lazy river and numerous slides, including the Triple Twist, a high-speed, five-story drop into a huge funnel followed by twists and turns. Kids love the MagiQuest game as they attempt to conquer a dragon solving riddles throughout the lodge. Tip: If you don’t want to stay overnight and enjoy the waterpark, you may go enjoy MagiQuest only—a fun interactive game for kids who love wizards and fantasy.
Take in a little sightseeing as well. History buffs will enjoy a tour of Grinter Place, the oldest home in Wyandotte County, for a look at frontier life along the Kansas and Missouri border.
Kansas City mom Kristina Light enjoys taking her girls on adventures all over her hometown.